Shoe inserts with built-in step indicating device

ABSTRACT

A shoe insert of the orthotic type made of a flexible material so that it can repeatedly flex without cracking and having a built-in step indicating device made of a stiff material that indicates to the user the posture or orientation of the foot at initial heel-to-ground contact through final toe-off.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPICATIONS

[0001] Not applicable.

BACKGROUND—FIELD OF INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to a footwear product specifically to shoe inserts which are orthotic in nature.

BACKGROUND—DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

[0003] Excessive pronation (inward roll) and supination (outward roll) of the foot are commonly known to cause problems such as heel pain, aching legs, knee pain and back pain. This roll action or rotation of the foot is undesirable and is caused by the prolonged improper way of how a person executes each step in the process of walking, running or in any other activity. As a result, the person unknowingly loses having the correct step dynamics and the problem deteriorates over time. When the foot rolls out of alignment from its normal position, a chain of unpleasant events occur. In the case of a pronating foot, the arch is lowered or collapses, causing the plantar fascia ligament which extends from the heel bone to the base of the toes to stretch. The increased strain due to the stretching of the plantar fascia ligament may cause inflammation of the ligament with resulting small tears at the heel attachment point, causing heel pain. In both cases of excessive pronation and supination, the misaligned foot causes the leg to rotate out of alignment. The imbalance on the leg puts uneven forces on the knee joint causing knee pain. Further up the leg, the pelvis is forced out of its normal alignment in order to carry and transfer the imbalanced load from the misaligned leg to the back. The misaligned pelvis causes an increase in the curvature of the backbone resulting in poor body posture and therefore back pains. A person may not be aware that his or her feet are rotated out of alignment even while standing at a stationary position.

[0004] There are many types of orthotic shoe inserts available in the market today. Some inserts attempt to correct the misalignment of the foot by merely bringing the foot back to its normal position. While other inserts simply provide better support, comfort and control over excessive pronation (inward roll) or supination (outward roll) of the feet.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,700 to Brown (1985) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,052 to Schoenhaus, et al. (1992) are two examples of such orthotic shoe inserts which basically provide the feet with similar support and roll control. These shoe inserts however are only beneficial when used. In reality, the common person does not wear shoes and therefore shoe inserts throughout the day and night.

[0006] As a sufferer of excessive supination of the feet myself, I was looking for a footwear product that would not only provide my feet with the proper support, comfort and control over this problem, but also one that could train me by indicating to me the posture or orientation of my feet at ground contact while walking, running, standing or while doing any other activity so that I could self-correct the posture of my feet by rotating them back to their normal position. The present shoe inserts suffer from a number of disadvantages:

[0007] (a) They do not provide any form of indication to the user with regards to the posture or orientation of the foot at ground contact.

[0008] (b) They benefit the user only when used.

[0009] (c) The present shoe inserts makes the user highly dependent on them since they do not provide a permanent solution.

[0010] (d) The present shoe inserts do not remove the problem of excessive pronation and supination of the foot. They only accommodate the problem by realigning the foot or by giving it better support.

SUMMARY

[0011] In accordance with the present invention, an orthotic shoe insert with a built-in step indicating device which indicates excessive pronation and supination of the foot.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

[0012] Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are:

[0013] (a) To provide an orthotic shoe insert that will give an indication to the user the posture or orientation of the foot from initial heel-to-ground contact through final toe-off while walking, running, standing or while doing any other activity.

[0014] (b) To provide a shoe insert that trains the user to self-correct any misalignment due to the rotation of the foot.

[0015] (c) To provide an orthotic shoe insert that will enable the user, after a period of time, to be free from having to rely on shoe inserts as soon as the user is naturally able to control foot rotations.

[0016] (d) To provide a shoe insert which aims to remove the root cause of the problem of excessive pronation and supination of the foot.

[0017] Further objects and advantages are to provide an orthotic shoe insert which will help in reducing or removing the problems caused by or related to excessive pronation or supination of the feet. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing descriptions and drawings.

DRAWING FIGURES

[0018] In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes.

[0019]FIG. 1 shows the rear view of a normal right foot.

[0020]FIG. 2 shows the rear view of a pronating right foot.

[0021]FIG. 3 shows the rear view of a supinating right foot.

[0022]FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a right shoe insert with the indicator device located near the outer edge.

[0023]FIG. 5 shows the side view of a right shoe insert with the indicator device located near the outer edge.

[0024]FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the shoe insert.

[0025]FIGS. 7A and 7B show the rear view of a pair of left and right shoe inserts with the indicator device located near the outer edges of the shoe inserts.

[0026]FIGS. 8A and 8B show the rear view of a pair of left and right shoe inserts with the indicator device located near the inner edges of the shoe inserts.

[0027]FIGS. 9A and 9B show the rear view of a pair of left and right shoe inserts with the indicator device located near both the inner and outer edges of the shoe inserts.

[0028]FIG. 10 shows the rear view of a right foot in an outward roll (supinated) position with the indicator device located near the outer edge of the shoe insert.

[0029]FIG. 11 shows the rear view of a right foot in a normal position with the indicator device located near the outer edge of the shoe insert.

[0030]FIG. 12 shows the rear view of a right foot in an inward roll (pronated) position with the indicator device located near the inner edge of the shoe insert.

[0031]FIG. 13 shows the rear view of a right foot in a normal position with the indicator device located near the inner edge of the shoe insert.

[0032]FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of a full-length version of a right shoe insert with the indicator device located near the outer edge.

[0033]FIG. 15 shows the rear view of a shoe with the insert in position.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS

[0034]20 right shoe insert

[0035]22 left shoe insert

[0036]24 arch support

[0037]26 indicator device

[0038]28 full-length version right shoe insert

[0039]30 cloth lamination

DESCRIPTION

[0040]FIG. 4—Preferred Embodiment

[0041] A preferred embodiment of the shoe insert of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4, which shows a right foot shoe insert. The same principals apply to the left foot shoe insert but as a mirror image of the right foot shoe insert. The indicator device 26 in this figure is located near the outer edge of the shoe insert. The shoe insert 20 is made of a flexible material which can repeatedly flex in the process of walking or running without cracking or fracturing and continues to retain its original shape afterwards. In the preferred embodiment, the shoe insert is a flexible polyurethane foam. However the shoe inserts can be made of any other durable material that can withstand the relevant forces related to the human body in motion and repeatedly flex without cracking or fracturing, such as polypropylene, polyurethane foam, nylon, rubber, leather, various impregnated or laminated fibrous materials, various plasticized materials, etc. The cross-section of the shoe insert is basically u-shaped from the heel location and gradually flattening out towards the toe.

[0042] The indicator device is spherical in shape. In the preferred embodiment the indicator device is made of solid hard plastic material. However the indicator can also be made of any other suitable material such as vinyl, nylon, rubber, plasticized material, laminated fibrous materials, etc.

[0043] An arch support 24 is built into the design of the inserts to provide better support and comfort. The arch support together with the insert can be integrally made in the process of manufacture such as molding.

[0044] The indicator device can be located such as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. It can either be bonded to the shoe insert in a separate process or it can be molded in place simultaneously in a single process during the manufacture of the inserts.

[0045] FIGS. 8A-9B—Additional Embodiments

[0046] Additional embodiments are shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B where the indicator devices are located near the inner edges of the shoe inserts. In FIGS. 9A and 9B, the indicator devices are located near both the inner and outer edges of the shoe inserts.

[0047]FIG. 14—Alternative Embodiments

[0048] An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 14, which is similar to FIG. 4, except that the shoe insert 28 shown is of a full-length version.

[0049] Advantages

[0050] From the description above, a number of advantages of my shoe insert with built-in step indicating device become evident:

[0051] (a) The indicator device is a simple single piece object which can be cheaply made from readily available materials such as plastic, vinyl, nylon, rubber, plasticized material, laminated fibrous materials, etc.

[0052] (b) The technology to manufacture these shoe inserts is readily available. Therefore no additional cost would be incurred in having to develop new equipment or machines.

[0053] Operation

[0054] The manner of using these shoe inserts is identical to that for shoe inserts in present use. The left and right inserts are placed in the respective left and right shoes, which are then worn by the user. A view of the insert in position is shown in FIG. 15.

[0055] Where the indicator devices 26 are located near the outer edges of the inserts 20 and 22 as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, such shoe inserts are meant for those who suffer from excessive supination or outward roll of the feet. When the foot is in the outward roll position, the outer edge of the shoe comes in contact with the ground first. Since the indicator device 26 is located on the outer edge of the inserts 20 & 22, the user will feel a mild “poking” sensation on the user's outer heel edge due to the pressure of the foot on the indicator device as shown in FIG. 10. This would give an indication to the user that an inward counter roll or rotation of the foot is needed in order to correct the posture of the foot sufficiently so that the “poking” sensation is no longer felt as shown in FIG. 11. The size, depth and position of the indicator device can be varied to enables the user to determine the amount of counter roll or rotation required in order to bring the foot back to its normal position, depending on the severity of the problem.

[0056] Where the indicator devices 26 are located near the inner edges of the inserts 20 and 22 as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, such shoe inserts are meant for those who suffer from excessive pronation, or inward roll of the foot. When the foot is in the inward roll position, the inner edge of the shoe comes in contact with the ground first. Since the indicator device 26 is located near the inner edge of heels of the inserts 20 & 22, the user will feel a mild “poking” sensation on the user's inner heel edge due to the pressure of the foot on the indicator device as shown in FIG. 12. This would give an indication to the user that an outward counter roll or rotation of the foot is needed in order to correct the posture of the foot sufficiently so that the “poking” sensation is no longer felt as shown in FIG. 13.

[0057] Where the indictor devices 26 are located near both the inner and outer edge of the inserts 20 and 22 as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, such shoe inserts are meant to cater for the case where the user needs to check for both excessive pronation or supination of the feet simultaneously.

[0058] Therefore, the sheer sensation on the sole of the foot caused by the user's own weight on the indicator device 26, makes the user aware of the posture of the foot at initial heel-to-ground contact through final toe-off while walking, running, standing or while doing any other activity. This will enable the user to correct the posture of the feet. Whenever these shoe inserts are used, the user is being trained to inculcate the habit of having the correct foot posture.

[0059] As a result of this, with the use of these shoe inserts over a period of time, the user would eventually regain or achieve having the correct foot posture. With the problem corrected, the user would no longer need to use these shoe inserts and the problems associated with excessive pronation and supination of the feet will be reduced or removed.

[0060] Conclusion, Ramifications and Scope

[0061] Thus the reader will see that these shoe inserts with the step indicating device of this invention provides an efficient and yet economical means by which a person would be able to correct the posture of the feet and thus remove or minimize the problems relating to excessive pronation and supination of the feet.

[0062] While my above description contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible. For example, the inserts as well as the indicator device can come in different shapes, sizes, materials and colors. The inserts can be coated with a different material. The upper surface of the inserts can be covered with a layer of textile or fabric 30 for additional comfort and aesthetic purposes. The location of the indicator device on the shoe inserts can also vary. The inserts and indicator devices can be made integrally in a single operation or attached together in two or more separate processes. More than one indicator device 26 can be attached to each shoe insert and positioned in different locations on the insert in order to give a specific effect in terms of sensation on the sole of the foot.

[0063] The insert and indicator device can be made integrally as part of the actual insole of a footwear. These shoe inserts having the indicator devices can be manufactured for sale as an over-the-counter product or as a custom made-to-measure product to suit specific requirements on a case to case basis as recommended by a Podiatrist or Foot Specialist. For a specific requirement, the thickness and stiffness of the shoe inserts, size, shape and location of the indicator device can be varied as needed.

[0064] Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents. 

I claim:
 1. A footwear product which indicates pronation and supination of the foot.
 2. A footwear product comprising of a shoe insert and a device which indicates the posture of the foot.
 3. An orthotic device which indicates pronation and supination of the foot. 